An Elemental & A JewelDetector
by Crimson Elemental Alchemist
Summary: Raene, a not-so-ordinary girl, discovers her life turned upside-down when homunculi come to abduct her for her "differences". Problem is: she has no clue what they are talking about... EnvyxOc
1. Unexpected Vacationer, Kidnap

_Disclaimer: I do not own _FullMetal Alchemist_. I do however own any character(s) who are not associated with Arakawa-sensei's story._

_Crimson: I hope you all enjoy this^^ As one of my high school English teachers used to say: "Read on!"_

* * *

**Chapter One–**

**Unexpected Vacation . . . er, Kidnap**

**O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O**

_**Destiny is just the reaper.**_

"Huh? A girl with a strange marking on her body?" the overweight man repeated, staring at the two in front of him in bewilderment. One of the people leaned forward and rested an elbow on the worn surface of the outdoor market stand. This man's mouth turned up in a sinister smirk, causing the owner of the small stand to tense up in fear. Long green hair tumbled over pale shoulders while amethyst eyes regarded the shop-keeper's growing unease with open amusement.

"That's what we said," Envy purred, silently adding _'Baldy'_ for his own pleasure.

"Well, uh, I'm not sure about any marking, but I can direct you to a strange _girl_ who might be able to help you folks out," the man said in a hurry, desperate to get these two frightening strangers away from him and his shop. Envy and Lust both gave him questioning looks.

"How can a _strange girl_ help _us_?" Envy retorted, voice hissing low in warning. The heavy man began to sweat profusely out of nerves.

"Um. Well . . . sh-she's the only one in this small town that could help you. I mean she knows everyone that lives here. Not a social lass, but she does keep a close eye on everyone around her and pick up details other folk would miss," he explained as well as he could, not even daring to wipe his drenched brow.

"Hmmm." The green-haired homunculus stood up straight, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. His violet eyes glanced over at his well-endowed companion. "Well, what do you think, Lust? Wanna check it out?" Lust smirked at him in what he took to be a "yes", but before they could get the directions from the shop-keeper, Wrath's indistinct yell had the two homunculi turning to their left.

The child homunculus had just come racing around the corner, and was in the process of avoiding a collision with his two older companions. A cloud of dust rose into the air as Wrath came to a sudden stop in the dirt road. Messy, black hair framed a child's face; it's length spanning the entirety of his back, only stopping at the base of his spine. A pair of wide violet eyes–at one time, as innocent and harmless as any human child's–sparkled malignantly as he stood up proudly.

"What's up, Wrath?" Envy asked indifferently, placing his hands on his hips out of habit.

"I think I found her! Come on!" the black-haired boy exclaimed, swinging around to race back down the street. Envy didn't move at first; his violet eyes watching the departing form of the younger sin. A smug smirk finally tugged at his lips as Envy leapt from the dirt street and landed gracefully on the top of a stone building. Lust watched him from below as he began to race after the homunculus boy, jumping from roof to roof. She smiled to herself at the two's enthusiasm as she followed at a much more sedate pace, crossing her arms imperiously across her ample chest. Lust took her sweet time in joining the other two sins at the edge of town who stood waiting for her somewhat impatiently.

**.::MEANWHILE with the poor shop-keeper . . .**

"Wh-Wha-WHAT?!" he held his bald skull with both porky hands. "Who _were_ those people?!" The overweight man began the short journey to his first grand mental breakdown . . . (A/N: this man is not important to the story. I just thought this tidbit would be funny^^)

**END OF CRAZY SCENE::.**

"_This_ is what you found?" Envy asked the kid homunculus wryly, eyes closed so as to block out the view of the run-down cabin they now stood in front of. Wrath looked at him in confusion, not understanding what the big deal was. A shabby shack separated from the rest of the town was still a place to live after all, and Wrath _had _ found someone living there.

"No, idiot," he snapped, getting fed-up with the green-haired man. "the girl who _lives_ here is what I found. She had markings on her shoulders." His violet eyes glared at Envy who looked at him doubtfully.

"So?" Lust asked, "Where is this girl?" Another's voice answered the woman's question.

"Right here. Who are you?" The three homunculi turned around in surprise as they heard the feminine voice speak from behind them. They saw a young girl, probably around the age of eighteen, standing proudly in the grass and holding a small bag of something that smelled pretty good to Wrath's nose. "Oh hello, Wrath," the girl greeted the boy softly, giving him the smallest of smiles while holding out the paper bag to him. "These are the chocolates I promised you."

"Yes!" the young homunculus whooped for joy, spinning on his heel before grabbing the bag with a mumbled thanks to the girl. Envy tried to snatch the bag away quickly, but Wrath had already sped off in the direction of a tall tree to climb and escape the green-haired sin.

"Why the hell did you do that?!" Envy yelled at the human female, trying not to strangle Dante's precious girl as thoughts of an even-more hyper Wrath entered his head. He ran a hand through his green locks, grumbling, "Never mind . . ." His violet eyes strayed back to the new girl and took this chance to study her.

Dark-brown hair spilled down behind her; the ends dangling at the middle of her back. The wavy locks framed the girl's soft face as the dark strands accentuated the creamy white of her skin. Deep, brown eyes conveyed her curiosity at her two unexpected visitors as they roamed over Lust's revealing features. Envy's eyes moved down from there, taking notice of the blood-red long-sleeve shirt that she wore which hid her shoulders from view. He frowned at the hidden markings but continued his examination after a moment. Underneath the open red over-shirt, a black tank top hugged the girl's every curve. Envy did not miss the extremely thin mid-section. His eyes hovered for a moment over the girl's depraved stomach before straying down to her thighs where a pair of black pants began and eventually ended just below the girl's ankles. Envy managed to catch a glimpse of her bare feet as the white skin peeked out from between the black cloth of her pants and the emerald-green grass. Envy betrayed none of his emotions as he returned his amethyst gaze back to the human's eyes. The corners of his mouth turned up in an amused grin as he took notice of the wary brown eyes now focused on him.

"Well. Looks like we found a _strange girl_, Lust." His eyes slid over to glance at his "sibling", seeing if she had spotted what he had. She had.

"It seems we have," the tall woman purred, closing her red eyes as she smirked.

The girl the two homunculi stood in front of had no idea what they were discussing, and her confusion showed on her face quite plainly even though she tried to conceal it. One foot took an automatic step backwards as Envy strode up to stand right in front of her. He leaned forward and she leaned back, the result was still Envy's primary intention however: their faces had a distance of a mere three inches apart.

"So how about it, little girl? Wanna come with us?" the green-haired homunculus asked enticingly; his smirk only growing at the blush tinting the girl's cheeks. Envy found that he was actually enjoying this.

"Come with you?" her voice remained relatively calm even while the crimson color spreading over her face contradicted any shred of composure. The male's hot breath fanning her skin was not of any help either. She grew more and more uneasy at the close proximity. "Why would I do that?" she demanded, voice shaking slightly but nonetheless firm. Her eyes held the defiance and the daring she felt as she glared into the boy's violet gaze. She'd had enough already that day what with the village kids throwing rocks at her yet again, and that fat shop-keeper trying to sic his two dogs on her (notice _trying_ to sic them on her. That idiot should have found out by now that _she_ had been the one caring for them whenever he was too drunk to do so). "Why would _homunculi_ want me?" she snapped her eyes to the female homunculus as she said this, waiting to see if either of her "guests" had noticed what she had just said.

"Because you, apparently, are _not_ human," Envy replied, getting closer to her just to see her grow ever more nervous. His body brushed against hers and he smirked.

"And because our master wants you to join us," Lust put in, eyes still closed.

"You don't belong with humans," Envy continued, pretending that his companion had not interrupted him. "Homunculi don't belong with humans. So how about we stick together to find out what you really are? My master can offer you a home and help you find a purpose in life." Sincerity coated his words, and he offered them to her like candy to a sweet-toothed child. The girl tried to ignore the appealing offer, but her desire to be free from her present living hell proved too strong. And her curiosity had quite a large role in making her decision as well . . . .

"Fine," she caved, hating herself for doing so, but knowing that she wouldn't have had a choice anyway. She was no fool–she knew that these strangers would not have allowed her to give any other answer. Her brown eyes closed and she heard the woman a ways off, calling for Wrath. At least she would no longer have to live alone . . . .

Someone's arm draped itself across her shoulders, and she felt the unfamiliar warmth from another's body radiate onto her cold skin. Her eyes snapped open.

"Geez, you're cold. Definitely not a human's body temperature," Envy complained even though he did not remove his arm. The new girl merely shrugged at the comment while attempting to hide the modesty that had begun to reveal itself on her cheeks yet again. "So what's you're name anyway?" Envy asked, leaning down to get a good look at her face.

"Raene Nominé," she answered, looking down at her feet as they began walking.

"Dante has given you a new name: 'Betrayal'," Lust informed her as she came up to them with Wrath tailing behind her. Envy noticed with a mixed sensation of relief and doom that the paper bag of chocolate was nowhere to be seen. He groaned out loud and put his face in his free hand.

Raene Nominé (henceforth known as 'Betrayal') looked up at Lust, stark understanding showing within her eyes, and simply nodded. The female homunculus saw the gesture and turned around to lead the way back to their temporary hideout. Wrath fell into step right behind her, and Betrayal and Envy took up the rear. Betrayal didn't care what they ended up calling her. She instantly decided that she would not live up to that name. Betrayal raised her eyes to watch the horizon as the sun set; her slit pupils and brown irises now revealing no emotion (for she was feeling none at present), but they did dance with unknown shadows–dark secrets–that would one day come forth into the light . . . .


	2. Allergic Reactions?

_Disclaimer: I do not own_ Fullmetal Alchemist _. . . but I do want the homunculi!_

_Crimson: Thank you for the reviews! I love it every time I get one. They help a lot^^ _

_Betrayal: I sure hope so. Can we get on with it now?_

_Crimson: Alright . . . wanna do the disclaimer?_

_Betrayal: O.o **points up** Isn't _that _thing the disclaimer? _

_Crimson: **pouts** Humor me . . . _

_Betrayal: **sweatdrops** Crimson Elemental Alchemist does not own _Fullmetal Alchemist_, but she does own . . . me . . . That's kinda creepy . . . ._

_Crimson: Read on!_

* * *

**Chapter Two–**

**Allergic Reactions?**

**O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O**

"Oh my. Such a pretty girl you are," Dante cooed yet the expressionless face did not change. Betrayal refrained herself from narrowing her eyes at the cold aura the "master" displayed. She did not like this woman very much. _Lady_ Dante reminded her strongly of a snake she had once encountered. The scaly reptile had blocked her dirt path one day; its sinuous body stretched across the little road while its triangular head and sinister eyes merely regarded Betrayal with a warning stare. Betrayal could sense the same deadly power radiating from Dante that she had sensed in the snake that day. She decided it best to remain on this woman's good side so as not to feel the fatal bite that Dante could undoubtedly inflict.

"Yep! She is!" Wrath agreed immediately, sugar getting the better of him as he hugged Betrayal's middle (A/N: Betrayal is pretty short. I don't know how tall Wrath is, but I'm going to say that he's a head or so shorter than Betrayal). Betrayal remained quiet but a light blush colored her cheeks at the boy's touch and her muscles tensed. Dante remained still and expressionless, but she finally let out a small smile. Motioning with a wave of her hand to Envy, Dante extracted a small, velvet pouch from her pocket.

The green-haired homunculus pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on and walked towards Dante. Opening his palm to take the black bag, he carefully guarded his expression and hid any signs of confusion from his "mother". Wrath, Betrayal, Dante, and he were the only people occupying the darkened room. Betrayal had not met anyone else since she had arrived at the mansion a couple hours ago. Lust had even walked off, mumbling something about taking care of all the damage (A/N: Gluttony was left behind, remember? _Something_ must have happened with him and his enormous stomach).

"I don't care how you do it, just get her to take these," Dante ordered Envy who looked just a bit defiant. The homunculus forced himself to smile obediently at his mother as he consented to her demand. Dante grinned, "That's a good boy. Betrayal, go with him. And Wrath, go find Sloth. She has a job for you." The stately woman then headed for the open doorway, but she stopped before exiting to look over her shoulder at the three remaining in the room, "Bring her back here in the morning, Envy. We're going to have a family meeting." With that said, she left the room and disappeared down the hall. Wrath ran out soon after her, heading off in the opposite direction to go find his "mother".

Envy turned to watch Betrayal who hadn't uttered a single word since their arrival at the mansion. Her eyes, narrowed in serious contemplation, focused on the door that her "master" had just left through. Envy smirked, realizing that the girl would probably pay him no heed now that she had other things to mull over. The sadistic grin switched to a frown as his amethyst eyes fell to the small purse in his open palm. Curiously, he overturned it and let the contents spill into his hand. Two precious Red Stones lay in his open palm, glinting in the colored light from the setting sun. He brought them close to his face and glanced over the crimson stones at Betrayal who still paid him not a bit of attention as she sat down, cross-legged, on the floor. An idea hit him and the smirk returned to his lips. _You don't care how I do it, huh, Master?_ he thought sinisterly, slipping both stones between his lips and dashing over to Betrayal.

Betrayal felt something pin both of her hands down to the floor on either side of her lap. Confused, the girl looked up to see Envy leering at her which caused her heart to pound frighteningly against her ribcage. Her mouth opened instantly in an effort to question his motives, but his lips crushed hers before she could utter a single coherent word. Something heavy dropped onto her tongue. Something that had a sweet and sour taste, pleasing Betrayal with the strange experience. It reminded the girl strongly of candy, yet she could sense the taint in it. The insane sweetness nearly overpowered that darkness, but Betrayal still couldn't stand it. She tried to push them out, accidentally brushing her tongue against Envy's as he kept his mouth on hers to prevent her from spitting out the Stones. The electric shock she suddenly felt from the pleasing texture of the homunculus's tongue caused her to swallow both stones. They slid down her throat smoothly, intoxicating her with their sweet and sour bliss.

As soon as Envy felt for sure that she had ingested the Red Stones, he pulled back from her reluctantly. Betrayal had her eyes squinted shut as if in pain which had Envy wondering if she was a mere human after all, but when the girl opened them he realized she was just like the rest of the homunculi. Her brown eyes glared into his amethyst ones; anger burning in their depths. Her hands even fisted as she tried to throw him off her, but Envy kept her easily pinned to the floor. He smirked at her, delighted that his plan had worked.

"You liked them, right? Want some more?" he asked her, grinning insanely at the girl as he enjoyed the feeling of her body under his. Betrayal just glared at him, refusing to speak. "Aww. Why don't you just _say_ something?" Envy whined, his smirk turning into a pleading pout. Betrayal couldn't keep the small smile from her face at his drastic change in moods. And his expression couldn't have been cuter either . . . .

A strange warmth suddenly suffused within her stomach, causing Betrayal to tighten her muscles instinctively at the strange feeling it caused. "What were those things?" she asked as calmly as she could, looking up at Envy who still straddled her. Betrayal was starting to feel self-conscious about their position.

The green-haired homunculus stared at her for a moment before releasing his grip on her wrists and standing up. Thankful for the freedom, Betrayal got up from her position on the floor and dusted herself off. Her distrustful brown eyes never once left Envy as she straightened up.

"They're called Red Stones. Homunculi are the only creatures that can eat them." Envy looked at the girl before him curiously. "But apparently there are some _unknown_ creatures that can do the same," he rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he said this, violet eyes never leaving Betrayal's face. His eyes darkened as he remembered something. "You didn't like something about those stones," he stated as a fact, not a question. Betrayal looked away from him, eyes downcast. He frowned and came closer to her, intent on finding out exactly _why_ she had wanted to spit the Red Stones out. "Betrayal . . ." he demanded threateningly, like a father would to a child.

"They were tainted," her voice came out in a whisper, but Envy heard it clear as day. He also felt his gut sink for some reason. She had sounded so sad. Envy huffed, pushing the strange feeling aside as he smirked at the girl.

"Well of course they are. They're not _perfect_," he explained to her, putting his hands behind his head and walking to the door. "You coming or what?"

Betrayal looked up from her feet, bafflement in her light-brown eyes. "Uh. Where to?" she asked, pushing the issue about the Stones out of her head. After all, she had already swallowed them and maybe he was right. Humans had tainted auras as well; it was a natural occurrence.

"To my bedroom. We have to get some sleep. Dante likes waking up early in the mornings." Envy smirked at the girl's crimson blush. "What's wrong? Afraid I'll ravish you in your sleep?" he asked seductively, putting his hands down to rest on his hips. Betrayal's blush deepened, but she glared at him and shook her head in the negative. "Well, you should be," he muttered darkly as he left the room, his new charge following after him reluctantly . . . .

* * *

**NEXT MORNING–**at the meeting (A/N: And no, nothing happened with Envy and Betrayal. Envy got the bed while Betrayal slept on the floor . . . well, it's Envy what did you expect?)

"Betrayal? You changed," Wrath said as he looked the girl over. Betrayal let out an exasperated sigh and let the boy circle her curiously. The girl sat cross-legged on the floor, in front and to one side of the couch where Envy himself sat on the arm and looked down as if with pride at her. Betrayal could feel everyone's eyes on her, and she mentally flinched.

"Hmm. So the Red Stones caused a change in your physical appearance?" Dante commented, interest sparking in her eyes for a moment as she took in the girl's new look. Light-green hair fell straight down to her mid-back, unbound at present. Her pale skin had taken on an ivory appearance. The markings on both shoulders (now visible since she had taken off her red over-shirt) remained dark-gray in color and hadn't changed in the least–the one on the left shoulder appeared as a dark flame about to be smothered under an equally-dark wave, while the marking on the right resembled a twisted vine curved alongside a free-form shape representing wind. Betrayal looked up at the woman with golden eyes, slit black pupils still visible. She craved for the woman to leave her alone, but the meeting had just begun so Betrayal wouldn't get her wish anytime soon.

"Is this our new sister?" a soft voice asked Dante. Betrayal looked over to the right of her and saw the homunculus Sloth (Envy had given her a detailed description of all his siblings the night before). Her back straightened a bit, but she didn't betray her surprise at all. The woman wore a violet dress that softly whispered with her movements as she walked over to the sitting Betrayal. From the corner of her eyes, Betrayal spotted Envy's violet glare narrow on Sloth's advancing form. The girl merely shrugged his distrust aside. He'd been like that all morning: glaring at the rest of the household whenever he thought she wasn't looking if they got too close to her. Ever since she woke up with green hair (Granted the color of her hair was much lighter than Envy's but it didn't seem to matter to the homunculus), Envy had become highly protective of her. _'It must be a male thing_,_'_ Betrayal concluded although she could understand Envy's hostile attitude toward Greed who had leered at her all morning.

"In a way, she is," Dante answered with a seemingly-tender smile. "She's a part of the family now. I'm just not sure _which_ part . . . ." she said the last thing solely to herself, but let it hang in the air for the others to ponder nonetheless. Betrayal merely sat there, thinking to herself and loathing all the attention. Someone's fingers ran through her odd-colored hair, awakening her from the confusing array of questions and theories. She looked up with a start to see Sloth kneeling beside her and caressing her hair. Betrayal took only a moment to contemplate the woman's motherly behavior before giving herself over to it.

Betrayal let her body lean into Sloth who smiled fondly at the teenager as she continued her soft caresses. Dante and the other homunculi looked on for a few minutes before beginning the official meeting. Envy, however, couldn't keep his eyes from wandering over to Betrayal as she enjoyed the feeling of someone showing her affection for the first time in a long time. Jealousy made itself known once again within the green-haired homunculus. He tore his gaze away for the fifth time.

"The Elric brothers are getting closer in their search for the stone," Pride started, standing erect. "They are heading out to a place called 'Caliph' to meet someone who may have a significant amount of knowledge on the subject."

"Please. They don't honestly think that there's a stone already in existence?" Envy said wryly, cupping his chin in a hand and closing his eyes. Betrayal's ears had pricked up at the mention of a stone, but she feigned ignorance. She had brains enough to know that they spoke of the Philosopher's Stone. "Why don't they just listen to us and _create_ the stone?"

"Because they don't want to hurt anyone, Envy," Lust said as she stood near one shadowy wall alongside Gluttony. Her arms were crossed over her breasts as her crimson eyes glinted out of the shadows.

"That's right," Dante responded, taking the reigns of the conversation with ease. "Those brothers aren't going to cooperate willingly." Her emotionless eyes moved over to the relaxing Betrayal. "Which is why I ask you, Betrayal, to persuade them." Her and everyone's eyes watched Betrayal as she straightened up and stared back at Dante.

The girl couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was supposed to _persuade_ these two brothers to do what? She didn't know what made up the Philosopher's Stone, but she knew it couldn't be anything good. Betrayal broke the staring contest first as she looked down at her clenched hands in her lap. This Philosopher's Stone was supposed to be an extremely-powerful object, and extremely-powerful objects usually had a high price in order to be created. What made up this stone? And why did everyone want it so badly?

Betrayal released a mental sigh. Oh well, she didn't have much choice, did she? "What do you want me to do to persuade them?" Betrayal asked, head still down so that her green hair covered her anguished expression. She would have to come up with an escape plan later. She couldn't believe she was doing this.

Dante and the homunculi in the room smiled . . . .


	3. Sewage Rat

_Disclaimer: I do not own _FullMetal Alchemist_ in any way, shape, or form. This is purely for fun._

_Crimson: Been awhile...Sorry, 'bout that. I've been meaning to update every single day, too. Haven't been feeling too good these last couple of days. Allergies, I think. Blasted pollen! **shakes fist at pollen**_

_Envy: Ignore her. I do._

_Crimson: Hey!_

_PS: I know Betrayal has been sounding kinda Mary-Sueish what with Envy's attitude towards her already…but it's nothing like that! Betrayal is just antisocial and isn't used to anyone being near her. You'll be seeing more of that as the story progresses and how she deals with it is quite…unique… Envy, meanwhile, is just having fun with the new girl. She hasn't managed to get on his bad side…yet._

_READ ON!_

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**Chapter Three–**

**Sewage Rat**

**O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O**

"Are we–"

"If you dare finish that question, I'll let Gluttony eat you," Lust warned in her sensual coo, not sounding all that upset despite her words.

Betrayal fell silent, trembling in a mixture of fear and disgust as her golden eyes caught sight of the overlarge and much-shorter homunculus eyeing her with apparent anticipation while licking his wide mouth. Sucking on her lower lip to reign in her words, the newest addition to Dante's strange "family" settled for observing their current surroundings as the trio walked on. The putrid stench of _something_ she'd rather not think about burned her nostrils, quickly making her eyes water. It took everything she had not to run out of there screaming for fresh air…

As it was, she was stuck walking the sewers with Lust and Gluttony leading her through the confusing maze…

Dark stone made up the walls, sloping overhead to make a cylindrical shape almost like a pipe but large enough for the three of them to walk through. Murky water flowed through the center of it at a sluggish rate. Luckily for them, there was a raised, dry section of concrete lining one side of the corridor so that they needn't travel through the vile-smelling liquid. Unfortunately, this sidewalk was only wide enough for them to move single file. Lust-having been through this passage many times before-led the way. Betrayal trailed right behind her, not afraid of getting lost so much as becoming lunch for the drooling Gluttony waddling at _her_ back… Of course, they didn't trust her! She had only been with them for a couple of days; and they could not take the chance of her slipping away and falling into military hands. And there was also the chance of her appearance alone sparking curiosity within certain alchemists. Tests could be run and who knows where that could lead! Certainly nowhere good… So she was forced to walk between the pair. For both her own safety and for theirs.

_Plop!_

Betrayal froze, ignoring the heavy weight of Gluttony bumping into her from behind. Her hearing was unnaturally-sharp-sharper now than it had been before the Red Stones had been forced into her. So that light splash of a misplaced pebble dropping into the water was a simple thing for her to catch. Body taut and ready to fight if need be, the wary girl turned around to stare into the darkness of the tunnel. Despite her increased sense of hearing and smell (her nose being useless in this place), her eyesight was, unfortunately, severely lacking. For as far back as she could remember, she'd had poor vision; able to see clearly only close up. The further away something was, the more blurred it became. Night time was her enemy. Therefore, it was no surprise that she couldn't see a flipping thing in the darkness of the tunnel behind them even with the light of the lantern Lust held. Her lack of vision only served to increase her anticipation, the hairs on the back of her neck raised as she strained to listen to any further noises.

"What's the matter?" Lust's voice floated back to her, calm as ever. Later, Betrayal would learn how to pick up the underlying annoyance in the woman's tone but, right now, she could only answer her elder.

"Something is back there," the younger girl informed her in a low whisper, not daring to move her eyes from the spot she knew she had heard something. Desperately, she flared her nostrils, trying to breathe in a scent to see what exactly lay beyond that veil of darkness. All she achieved, however, was a great gulp of unclean, horrid stench that made her gag and cause a bout of coughs that covered whatever more noise she would have been able to pick up otherwise…

"It was probably just your imagination," Lust brushed it off as she turned to continue their progress. "Aren't you coming?" she asked when she noticed that Betrayal had yet to move from her frozen state. A corner of her full lips moved up into a smirk at the fact that Betrayal had covered her nose with one hand, her sense of smell far too sensitive to take in anymore of the sewers' stink.

The green-haired teen hesitated, unable to shake the unease. Discreetly, she turned her head so that her left ear faced the tunnel behind them, listening intently for a moment. However, she caught the impatient expression growing on Lust's face. Coupling that with the hungry look on Gluttony's, and Betrayal opted to follow orders for her own sake. Still, she could not prevent herself from glancing back every once in awhile, still feeling eyes on her back and swearing to the gods she did not believe in that she could hear light breathing coming from the darkness.

After the 50th time of Betrayal looking behind them, Lust finally snapped at her.

"It's probably just some of Tucker's chimeras," the well-endowed homunculus quipped, sick of the paranoia that caused their companion to continue with that annoying head-turning every two minutes. "There are a few of them that run around here, seeing as how Tucker made most of them below the city."

At this new tidbit of information, Betrayal turned to stare wide-eyed at the black curls of the woman before her. "Tucker? Chimera?" she repeated, awestruck. She had no clue who this Tucker person was, but she was well-aware of chimera. Though she may not look it, Betrayal was an avid reader and had come across many alchemy books in her adoptive parents' home. When they were alive, the elderly couple had an extensive library. Many of the tomes consisted of alchemy and all things associated with the subject. _Chimera_ had actually been the title of one such book and had-just as the title suggested-all kinds of details on the oddly-formed creatures. Tucker may have been mentioned but Betrayal had poor memory when it came to peoples' names…

Lust sighed, having heard the question in the younger girl's voice. "Shou Tucker, the Sewing-Life Alchemist. I'll let Envy fill you in later," she half-explained, obviously tired of talking.

Betrayal frowned at that, none too pleased with the idea of the jealous male playing teacher for her but shrugged. She could put up with whatever Envy did to her; she was fast learning how to deal with the green-haired effeminate homunculus. Basically, she just let him do whatever since he got obvious joy from her reactions…

"So we're meeting up with Envy when we get to Central?" Betrayal questioned, feeling emboldened by the mere thought of her overprotective guardian. Lust's annoyance with her didn't shake her as much as it had just an hour ago. She was still wary of Gluttony, however, so she wouldn't push it too far, well-aware that the oversized _thing_ at her back listened only to Lust.

"Yes," Lust responded shortly. Her crimson eyes shot back to see if the girl was following and not dawdling like she had been. Seeing as how Betrayal's attention was so focused on this particular topic, the woman smirked and decided to stretch it out a bit more. At least they'd make it to their destination faster at this rate; then she could dump the girl off on Envy and be on her way. She had more important things to do than baby-sit _another_ dimwitted child.

"He will be the one to get you into Headquarters to meet the Elrics."

Betrayal's golden eyes darkened at this news, but she did not look down at her feet like she usually did. Instead, she held her head high as her gaze burned imaginary holes into the back of Lust's head. Her brain raced with thoughts, ideas, and plans, but nothing seemed to hold together. Nothing worked, nothing meshed perfectly… She wasn't sure of _what_ exactly she was planning. Was she going to concoct a plan to do as Dante desired and force the Elrics to make a stone? Or was she, instead, planning a way out of this mess and escape? So many options, so many ways to step wrong… What was she going to do?

As her head spun with these thoughts, Betrayal failed to notice the telltale scrapings of boots against rock as what had been following them took off into the darkness…

**.::somewhere above ground::.**

The two were stuffed into a phone booth, pressed up against the glass as they fought over who would have the pleasure of calling. The blonde won through cheating, kicking her male companion between the legs. As he sunk to the floor of the booth, writhing in pain, the woman smirked as she dialed the familiar number. She didn't have to wait long before someone picked up the opposite end and a rough voice breathed into her ear.

"_Devil's Nest,"_ the person answered in a bored tone, sounding as if they just woke from a nap.

Martel snorted, displeased with the one on the other end of the call. "Get the boss, Caps," she hissed into the mouthpiece, not even bothering with a greeting. Anticipation burned inside her at the prospect of delivering the news they had just gotten directly to the boss, and she was impatient to do so.

"_Gee, nice to hear from you, too,"_ Caps growled but Martel could hear him calling for their boss shortly after.

Good. She didn't want to have to threaten him with something so trivial as removing his family jewels if he didn't hurry…

"_Yo, Martel! What's up?" _Greed's jovial voice sounded in her ear.

Instantly, Martel felt herself get flustered at the sound of his voice, but quickly snapped out of that bizarre state. "Boss! We've got some information for you-"

She was suddenly caught off by someone snatching the phone out of her hand. Expression turning lethal, the blonde reached for the offender's throat. A quick kick to her chest, however, had her thrown out of the phone booth and onto her butt. She tried to jump back in but her companion had already snapped the door shut and was leaning against it. Dorochet made a face at her from beyond the glass which only served to make Martel more livid.

"Hey, boss! As we were saying," the dog chimera continued where Martel had left off, listening to the laughter on the other end of the line. Everyone in the bar must have heard the commotion… Martel was going to kill him for causing her such embarrassment… Eh, whatever. "It seems we have a sewer rat…"


End file.
